SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
TRAI has issued an amendment titled The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2026 to improve transparency and operational efficiency in the broadcasting sector. Issued on February 5, 2026, these amendments address long-standing stakeholder concerns regarding repetitive audits, resource wastage, and the lack of accountability among auditors. The new regulations transition the audit cycle from a calendar year to a financial year basis, mandating that all distributors submit their reports to broadcasters by 30th September annually.
Salient Features and Infrastructure Sharing
The Seventh Amendment introduces stringent technical and procedural guardrails to ensure the credibility of the audit process:
Enhanced Broadcaster Oversight: Broadcasters may now depute representatives during audits and seek time-bound clarifications from auditors regarding discrepancies. If dissatisfied, they can initiate a separate audit at their own cost with TRAI’s approval.
Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Annual audits at the distributor’s cost have been made optional for those with fewer than 30,000 subscribers, though broadcasters retain the right to audit them at their own expense.
Infrastructure Sharing Protocols: In cases where infrastructure is shared, separate instances for Subscriber Management Systems (SMS) and Conditional Access Systems (CAS) are required to enable entity-wise reconciliation.
Watermarking Standards: Infrastructure providers must insert network logo watermarking at the encoder end. To protect the viewing experience, the Authority recommends that no more than two logos be visible on the end screen.
What is “Infrastructure Sharing” in the context of TRAI’s broadcasting regulations? Infrastructure sharing refers to a model where multiple Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs), such as MSOs or HITS providers, utilize common hardware and software resources (like headends, SMS, or CAS) to deliver content. While this reduces capital expenditure for smaller players, TRAI’s new regulations mandate strict logical separation. Each distributor (the ‘seeker’) must ensure that their specific instances of the SMS and CAS meet all regulatory requirements independently, allowing auditors to perform precise, entity-wise reconciliation of subscriber numbers and revenue.
Policy Relevance
The 2026 Amendment represents a strategic move by TRAI to balance regulatory rigor with ease of doing business in India’s complex cable and satellite landscape. By streamlining the audit timeline and categorizing auditors by experience, the regulator is institutionalizing a high-trust ecosystem that prevents the “resource wastage” caused by redundant inspections.
Strategic Impact:
Reducing Operational Friction: Moving to a uniform September 30 deadline aligns the broadcasting industry with standard Indian financial reporting cycles, reducing the administrative burden on DPOs.
Promoting Digital Transparency: The requirement for separate SMS/CAS instances in shared infrastructure ensures that revenue leakage is minimized, directly benefiting the exchequer and content creators.
Protecting the Common Man’s Experience: The policy intervention on logo watermarking (limiting to two logos) shows a rare regulatory focus on the aesthetic quality of public broadcasting services.
Empowering Small Operators: Exempting DPOs with under 30,000 subscribers from mandatory self-funded audits provides significant financial relief to local cable operators (LCOs) in rural and Tier-III markets.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How can TRAI leverage the ‘updated audit manual’ to create a real-time digital dashboard that tracks distributor compliance, thereby eliminating the need for physical on-site audits by 2030?
Follow the full news here: TRAI Seventh Amendment Regulations 2026